My new Elektra Beckum KGS 331 Mitre saw.

[sigibbons]

I've just received my new mitre saw, an Elektra Beckum KGS 331 with induction motor.
Im really loving it everything is so smooooth and it cuts so positivly and silently with an 80t Axminster blade i threw on it. The induction motor really makes this saw.

One thing i feel could be improved is the so called positve stop for the mitre angles, its a plastic lever that clicks into the detent but the plastic lever wobbles on the spindle its mounted on. This means the saw will move slightly 3mm ish if you try and move it meaning it would go off square or off whatever angle you had it set at. This is totally fixed when you tighten the clamp to set the saw in an infinate position but i feel you shouldnt need to do this when using it in the positive detents.

Unfortunatly mine was a second hand saw and it seems my electric brake is not working, blade now takes roughly a year to stop spinning, so i need to get this sorted.

But overall im VERY impressed i feel this saw is totally overlooked by most people.

 

[Mcluma]

It is a very neat saw, pitty the electronic brake isn't working

I have the KGS 300 (which is the same as yours) and found it absolute worthless without the electronic brake as it took ages for the blade to stop, so i retrofitted the electronic brake and now its one of the best SCMS I have ever had

 

[ndbrown]

If its the electric brake it is not too expensive to replace for the 240v version. My one is the 110v version (I also bought my KGS331 second hand for £75) and the brake is fine.
The really helpful maintenance guy at Metabo UK explained the double price 110v brake being the only downside compared to the 240v version before I bought it (I did not know at that time if I needed it as I was buying "blind"), luckily i did not need it.
As a workshop saw it's superb, quite and smooth as long as you can live without trenching.
As to the play, the plastic lever might just be needing tightened. Adjustments between the plastic lever and the eccentric pivot at the back, is how you alter it for square (detent position) and perpendicularity.
I think its a much underrated saw, but its surprising how many professionals you sometimes see in magazines or on the TV have one!
No regrets and would fix it tomorrow if it broke.
Nigel

 

[Petiegolfer]

I have its big brother KGS 305. Have to admit its prtty damn good!
I was tossing up between it and the big Makita and prefered the build quality of the metabo...altogether more chunky.

Its happy going thorugh pine sleepers or cuting accurate mitres...a real beast! :twisted:

Piers

 

[sigibbons]

If its the electric brake it is not too expensive to replace for the 240v version. My one is the 110v version (I also bought my KGS331 second hand for £75) and the brake is fine.
The really helpful maintenance guy at Metabo UK explained the double price 110v brake being the only downside compared to the 240v version before I bought it (I did not know at that time if I needed it as I was buying "blind"), luckily i did not need it.
As a workshop saw it's superb, quite and smooth as long as you can live without trenching.
As to the play, the plastic lever might just be needing tightened. Adjustments between the plastic lever and the eccentric pivot at the back, is how you alter it for square (detent position) and perpendicularity.
I think its a much underrated saw, but its surprising how many professionals you sometimes see in magazines or on the TV have one!
No regrets and would fix it tomorrow if it broke.
Nigel

HI MR.GIBBONS

YOU NEED A NEW ELECTRONIC BOX

PARTNO.1010655575 FOR 240V

PARTNO.1010655567 FOR 110V

YOU CAN ORDER THE ITEM FROM JAYMAC PHONENO.01332755799

ANY PROBLEMS GIVE ME A RING

MIKE &METABO UK WORKSHOP 02380747524

REGARDS

Phoned JAYMAC and they told me its £181 for a electronic box for my 110v saw!
I really dont know whether its worth fixing? Could i get one used anywhere?

 

[Steve Maskery]

I can't comment on your problem, but I can just put in a word for Jaymac. They are an independent tool shop in Derby and give excellent old-fashioned service. Their prices are perhaps not rock-bottom like an internet shifter, but they are not bad, and on occasions they have had machines in cheaper than Ax. So if they givce you a price it's probably quite competitive.

I will buy from there if they have what I want.

Cheers
Steve

 

[ndbrown]

My understanding is that this saw is not marketed in the US so the UK is the only outlet for the 110v brake, volume is therefore much lower and price is double. I can only say that a working saw with a good brake is really worth having.
There are some really great mitre saws on the market, I spent ages looking for one, its personal preference of course, but for a workshop saw the KGS331/301 is unsurpassed in the area of noise or lack of it (dust extraction that works is also good!!.
Obviously once you start cutting there's probably not a huge difference between it and a brush motor saw on noise.
But it spins up and runs so smoothly compared to even a belt driven brush motor saw.
Its too heavy for an everyday site saw in my opinion so if I were buying new I would go for the 240v version, not the 110v, if only for the lower price of spares. However, I did not pay a lot for mine so I took the plunge and bought it anyway.
I guess only you can decide if its worth the expense of fixing. At that price you are close to buying a brand new brush saw from a major manufacturer. I think Axminster have an induction motor saw that is a copy of this at not much more than the spare part price, my recollection is that some people on the forum thought the EB/Metabo was a better saw, but I may be wrong.
Now that I have used mine for some time, I would fix it if it broke down, but would understand if other people would rather replace it as noise or dust is not as big a priority for them!

Nigel

 

[emlclcy]

one of these has just popped up for sale at £50 but it has no brake. I asked metabo and they came back with £182 + vat for the brake.
Has anyone found a way of making one?
is there a schematic of what's inside one anywhere?
cheers
carl

 

[ndbrown]

Cannot believe its been over 9 years since I posted the original comments. My saw is still working fine, nice and quiet along with the brake. I have not opened mine up to look inside the electronics but it might be an easy fix or simple connection problem. I would think a saw of this era (2001) would still be reasonably straightforward to repair unless everything is encapsulated. I will take a look inside mine this weekend and report back.
Nigel

 

[Eric The Viking]

Mine is the KGS 300 and it's 110V. It's probably at least third-hand.

I like it, although it has no brake. I've got used to it now, and just try to find something else useful to do for the minute or two it takes to slow down. I looked at building a "lightbulb" brake (well probably hevy power resistors actually). I did get it to work on test, but couldn't come up with a way to fit it tidily, nor a way to avoid using a relay (which wouldn' t survive for very long, because of the current being switched!).

I bought the distance stop (a bit of bent 10mm steel rod!), and the hold-down clamp and the DX kit for it. I've never fitted all the DX kit (only the part right behind the blade), as it won't improve matters much. It's due a proper saw station - if I build that I may consider it then. The copy that Axminster sold for a while (now discontinued) had an extra DX port on the blade guard. Given the amount of crud I that would probably help a lot!

The worst safety problem was that the blade guard used to stick (open!). I changed out a lot of the mechanics (the catch lever, etc., and even the main plastic housing (that also is the operating handle). Changing the return spring didn't help, and I cam to the conclusion said spring was simply too weak. I cut off about 1" of it (in its untensioned length), and bent the first few coils through 90 deg. and refitted it. That has been fine ever since, BUT you do need to keep it clean around the guard return mechanism - regular cleaning and using a paintbrush to get at the crevices is recommended.

Regarding mitre accuracy, it's a bit hit and miss. When it's good, it's excellent. Sometimes I get odd effects. I think it's down to the way I push or pull it. I'm sure the bronze bushes must be well worn now (it is old!), and there is side play. The actual mitre stops seem to be dead-on, although I check them very carefully at 90 and 45 when I use them. I "wriggle" the table to-and-fro before doing the clamp up, to make sure the peg is in the exact centre of the notch, and check it, as I said.

The fence IS adjustable, although this isn't clear from the manual, and it's not by much. I found mine was bent into a slight "V" shape in the middle, so the cut was pinching. I've fixed that, by bending it (very carefully). You might want to check yours.

Hope that helps,

E.

 

[ndbrown]

As promised, I had a look inside mine and took the opportunity to vacuum it out as it had a fair amount of sawdust in it. Proved to be an unexpected result - taking it apart that is!

For those that have not seen the Elektra Beckum (Metabo) Induction motored KGS301 / 331 Mitre Saw, this is it, all made in the Meppen factory in Germany.

Induction motor - Its got a fairly massive 1650W Induction saw that makes the saw incredibly quiet and smooth. Someone on eBay incorrectly listed one as belt drive but these saws have very few moving parts and the saw blade is directly driven from the motor.

The control box where the electric brake lives is the black box directly above the Induction Motor

This is the Start/Run Capacitor that is required for all single phase induction motors. Remember mine is a 110v version hence the rating of the capacitor.

Removing 6 positive screws from the control box reveals a top mounted a contractor/relay with thermal overload and at the bottom, a PCB with a couple of heavy diodes at the back. All of this is to to produce a Direct Injection Brake to to the motor. All the components as far as I could tell looked to be standard electronic parts, no surface mount or encapsulated components so everything should be easily repairable/replaceable.

Manufacturer of the DC Injection Brake for EB seems to be this company

During this process of taking the pictures and putting it back together, I then discovered that my electric brake was not working! Man, this saw blade takes a long time to slow down as a result of the inertia of the blade and the direct drive motor. I took it apart again and found a couple of crimped connections had fallen off when I removed the housing. Put them back on and brake is working fine again. Maybe this is all that is causing a fault in the machine you looked at!

Hope all of this helps

 

[nev]

Above and beyond Mr. Brown =D>